G/Soccer: Waldwick makes it a pair of championship trophies as they also take the N1 Group 1 Title

By: Robert Aitken Jr – NorthJersey.com.

WALDWICK − Waldwick would not have always been able to deal with the pressures endured in Saturday’s North 1, Group 1 girls sectional final. Despite starting multiple freshmen and sophomores, the Warriors have dealt with close calls and narrow misses of championship glory in recent years. On Saturday, they would not be denied.

Trailing in the second half and minutes away from another heartbreaking loss, Waldwick rallied for a tying tally on a penalty kick to send the game to overtime. And where teams might settle for the upcoming second overtime period, Waldwick pressed and made the final chance count.

“My girls put in a lot of work,” said head coach Julia Cuddy. “They were ready to move forward and take the next step today.”

On a throw in with 10 seconds remaining in the first overtime period, Ava Incorvaia got past a defender and put home the golden goal for Waldwick in the 90th minute, lifting the Warriors to a 4-3 win over Glen Rock. The clock read one second remaining on the scoreboard but, more importantly, saw the Warriors erase years of demons.

“I saw 11 seconds on the clock.” said Incorvaia. “I just kept going and the defender missed and I just gave it a chance. I just went and tried to make something happen and it did.”

Waldwick started quickly with two goals in the opening 12 minutes, outscoring the 1-0 result from the last outcome between these two teams. After Waldwick opened the scoring, the Panthers were also involved in the scoring as Nicole Crane found Ryan Doyle to tie the game at one eight minutes in.

The early scoring quickly cooled off with a 2-1 score at the half. In the second half, Doyle struck again with her second of the game to tie the game at two in the 47th minute. Things would remain tied until the 66th minute, when an indirect kick by Glen Rock was fueled by a gust of wind and traveled 60 yards in the air, finding a way into the goal to give the Panthers an improbable 3-2 lead.

Fighting for opportunities in the final minutes, Waldwick earned a quality chance with a foul inside the box during the 76th minute. Incorvaia would take the tense penalty kick, finding the back of the net to tie the match at three and send the game to overtime.

In the final seconds of the first 10-minute overtime session, it was Incorvaia once again with heroics for Waldwick. With one second remaining on the clock, the Warriors had gotten the golden goal needed for the first sectional title for the program since 2012.

“We decided to go at it how we normally would,” said Cuddy. “We went for more of a defensive look and knew that if we made a play, we would still have an opportunity and it went our way.”

What it means

For the first time in a decade, Waldwick moves on to the group semifinals. It comes after the Warriors endured semifinals losses in each of the last two seasons. Getting over that hump with a win in penalty kicks over Pequannock, the Warriors gained confidence heading into a matchup with an NJIC foe.

Waldwick will face Mountain Lakes in the Group 1 semifinals. The Lakers won the North 2, Group 1 on Saturday, defeating Glen Ridge, 4-2.

They said it

“It was a crazy start but it ended up being about us keeping our cool. We never watched the clock. We just kept going.” – Waldwick head coach Julia Cuddy.

“I’ve known and been playing with our seniors since I was six years old. To do this with them is just a great feeling.” – Waldwick junior Ava Incorvaia.

G/Soccer: Waldwick makes it a pair of championship trophies as they also take the N1 Group 1 Title

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